80 Canadiens want title

Tomorrow evening will see the championship game of the WestTel Youth Roller Hockey League. At 5:30pm the winners of the first round playoff games will square off.

King’s Sports Centre and WestTel Arena will once again be the site of the action. Yesterday, the winners had a brief training session in preparation for tomorrow’s game.

Coming into this week, the Citco Canadiens were the top team in the league. Their record was 6-3-1 and they ended the season leading the league in goals scored (43) and fewest goals allowed (31).

Though the Canadiens are the favourites, the other squads very much have a fighting chance. In last year’s league, the Sharks capped off their epic playoff run with the league championship.

Along the way they upset the league frontrunners such as the Leafs. The Leafs lost a close game to the Sharks in the finals.

This year’s Five-Continent Leafs is once again a solid bet for the title. They ended the regular season in second place at 5-3-2.

Meanwhile the Sharks are very much an underdog once again. The defending champions are last in the league at just 1-7-2. Their Achilles Heel has been their defence as they have allowed 43 goals over the course of 10 games.

Finally in third spot were the KPMG Senators at 5-4-1. The squad is one of the stingiest clubs when it comes to goals. They have allowed the second fewest with just 34 goals. However they also have problems scoring as they have scored the fewest goals with just 30 during the season.

At the end of play on Thursday, Chris Messer of the Leafs was the league’s leading point-getter with 28 points. Ben Black of the Canadiens was second with 22 points and Tynan Klein of the Sharks was third with 17 points.

Furthermore, the points leaders were also the top goal scorers. Messer, Black and Klein finished first through third with 24, 18 and 14 goals respectively.

On the assists end of things, it was all about the Sharks. Abby Stewart of the Sharks tied fellow team-mate Adam Stainrod with six assists apiece. Five players, with two each from the Senators and Canadiens, tied for second with four assists.

Kings Athletic Director Raymond Singh said the arrival of the playoffs comes after an exciting final game of the season.

‘This WestTel youth hockey season has flown by and it’s been a ton of fun. Congratulations to the Citco Canadiens on holding onto the 1st place seed for the season. The Leafs gave them a run for their money on Thursday but the tie wasn’t enough to take the top spot.’